we know in our gut and in our heart that the only pledge that should ever really matter is the pledge of allegiance. that's the declaration of independence we need to see from our elected officials in a way of honoring our founding fathers on this fourth of july. "anderson cooper 360" starts right now. we're getting the first real look tonight of what americans think on the supreme court decision on health care reform. keeping them honest. we're also getting double talk from politicians on the ruling. the spin and there's plenty of it revolving around a single word, taxes. does the money you have to pay for not having health insurance amount to a tax? >> it's a penalty for free riders. >> house minority leader nancy pelosi over the weekend, little slip of the tongue.

just straying from talking points that the mandate imposes a penalty, not a tax. >> the law is clear. it's called a penalty. >> the massive so-called tax increase is the freeloader penalty. >> people who can buy health insurance should take responsibility to do so. >> it's set up as a penalty for people who decide not to have insurance. >> it's a penalty. >> in case you missed it, it's a penalty and not a tax. that's what's being said, right? as for the republican side, any time is tax time. >> it's a tax increase. it's a massive tax increase on the middle class. >> that's florida senator marco rubio on saturday and the beat goes on. >> this law is a tax. >> obama care is the biggest tax increase in american history. >> the government could decide that we're going to tax you if you don't eat broccoli on tuesday. >> the affordable care act is a

tax. it is the largest tax in america's history. >> it's the largest tax increase on the middle class in history. >> obama care raises taxes on the american people. >> enough to make your head spin, right? keeping them honest. when republicans say it's a tax on people who choose not to buy health insurance, they are absolutely right the provisions for it are written into the tax law. section 5000a. those provisions are enforced by the irs. as chief justice john roberts wrote in his opinion "the only effect of the individual mandate is to raise taxes on those who do not do so, and thus the law may be upheld as a tax." sounds pretty clear, doesn't it? however, to call it as you just heard the biggest tax increase in history is just factually wrong. it is definitely a tax. both in the eyes of the supreme court and in the eyes of the

republican party. but over at romney's campaign headquarters, it looks like someone forgot to read the memo. >> the governor does not believe the mandate is a tax, that's what you're saying? >> the governor believes that what we put in place in massachusetts was a penalty and he disagrees with the court's ruling that the mandate was a tax. >> so he agrees with the president that it is not -- and he believes you shouldn't call the tax penalty a tax. you should call it a penalty or a fee or a fine? >> that's correct. >> that's correct. mitt romney and president obama are on the same page. though in fairness it would be hard for the romney campaign to say otherwise given that mr. romney is on record, on tape in fact defending the individual mandate in the reform plan that he signed as governor of massachusetts. and crucially, crucially calling it a penalty and not a tax.

whatever you call the mandate, new cnn opinion research polling shows that people are really split on this, folks, 50-49 on this ruling. they are no less divided on what to do next about it. 52% favor all or most of what's in the law. 47% oppose all or most of what's in the law. yet in the very same polling, 51% believe that congress should repeal the whole thing. we'll talk a bit in a moment about the politics of repealing the health care act as well as the tricky but by no means impossible mechanics of it. first, tax or penalty? joining us now, ari fleischer, cnn political contributor and former press secretary for george w. bush and bill burton, senior strategist for the top pro-obama super pac and senior legal analyst for cnn, jeffrey toobin. jeff, let me begin with you.

it's a simple question but not a simple answer. tax or penalty? >> john roberts' opinion said that this penalty, tax, whatever you want to call it, this punishment, this payment, was justified under the taxing power of the constitution. that was why he approved the whole plan. that's what he said. what a bunch of politicians want to call it is the fight we're having now. >> to be really clear, if you parse the opinion, it suggests that those who don't go out and get the insurance under the new law will be punished with a tax. >> correct. that's exactly what the opinion holds. it's not a lot of people. if massachusetts is the example we're talking about, it's about 1% of the population refused to get health insurance and can afford it, those people will be punished under this law and chief justice roberts' opinion says the payment that they have to make is a tax. >> so ari fleischer, to you

then. why is the senior adviser to mitt romney saying this is not a tax? it seems like things are a bit upside down right now. >> i checked with the romney campaign today and i think the answer is actually very straightforward. mitt romney is being consistent on this. in massachusetts where they had a provision that was roughly similar to that, it was called a penalty. massachusetts doesn't have the united states supreme court, which actually is a higher authority of what the federal law is. so mitt romney is being consistent in calling it a penalty just as he did in massachusetts. president obama, on the other hand, sold it to congress as a penalty and then instructed his staff to go to the supreme court and call it a tax, hence a switch at the supreme court to save the legislation. frankly actually, on the federal level, it's not a tax, it's not a law, it would have been struck down. i think what you have here is the president really trying to have it both ways and succeeding. >> bill burton, jump in on this if you would. regardless of what the law actually says, there is a lot of talk out there and sometimes it

sticks rightly or wrongly and the word tax is toxic. >> if you back up and take a look at this, mitt romney and president obama have the exact same position on whether this is a penalty or a tax. when the american people are choosing between these two candidates when it comes down to this issue, there's not a difference. the people who are trying to freeload on the system and make all of us pay for their insurance, ought to be penalized. that's what the president did in his plan. that's where this debate is. the fact there's a muddle of a message in republican groups versus republican national committee versus what romney and his campaign are saying, that's a message confusion issue they have on their side. when you just distill it down to who this race is between, president obama and governor romney, they're in the same place on this issue. >> ari, do you think there's any concern if this battle goes much further and republicans decide to really beat the tax over the

american voters' head and that the american voter will get tired of this? it's real hard to understand it no matter how much cable news you watch. they might just become disenchanted with the whole thing overall. >> i think if you take a look at most of the polling for the affordable care act, most americans are against it. they are against it because they don't think it will bring prices down but add to the cost of their insurance so now they're told if you don't get it, it's a tax increase. it's a pile upon pile upon reasons american people don't like it. that's one of the pieces of the pile. the biggest problem is it will raise insurance cost for most americans and make health care less affordable and not affordable. that's the heart of the whole problem with obama care and trying to run health care from the federal government. >> bill, i want you to jump in. i want to talk about a new cnn poll that has mitt romney eight points ahead of president obama in 15 battleground states. numbers are 51 to 43 if i'm looking at them correctly. the president has a slight lead

nationally 49% to 46%. does health care weigh in heavily to these numbers or what do you make of them? >> i think this is one poll. there's been a lot of polls and most polls show in the swing states the president is doing better. i think the fact that cnn included states like indiana and missouri and arizona, which are probably not as competitive as some other states, lends itself to numbers being a little more favorable for mitt romney. i think that mostly the president looks like he's doing a lot better for a lot of folks and despite what even independent observer would consider a bunch of challenging news cycles, the president's numbers have been remarkably stable. >> those are bad numbers in the swing states. why do you think he didn't do well? >> if you add in states that are swing states versus the states that will decide the election, the picture will look worse. >> i asked you why you don't think he's doing well in those 15 swing states? >> i think the president is actually doing very well in

swing states especially if you look -- >> he's lagging by eight points. that's outside of the margin. you cannot spin that, bill. >> actually, this isn't spin. this is just about the polls. you know, i think there's going to be polls that go up and down throughout this election cycle. i think the president's numbers have actually been pretty stable despite some challenging news cycles and it will be interesting to see how american people react to the fact the supreme court has made a subtle decision on health care and whether or not people are just ready to move on from that debate or keep having it. >> ari, do you think that's changed since the opinion and flurry of activity on the news? >> there can be a tendency when the supreme court rules for it to give a boost on whichever way it rules but in this case economy, jobs, health care, hurts jobs and in that sense obama care hurts jobs. >> we're not even a week out from the opinion so regardless of how you look at it you may

bask in the overglow or after bu afterburn of the opinion. let us know what you think. we're on facebook and you can follow the program on twitter. we mentioned the slim majority of people that want the entire health care law repealed. up next, how would that happen? we'll let you know. president obama may face this even if he's re-elected. if republicans take control this fall, there are mechanics you need to be aware of. we'll break it all down next. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state.

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do on my first day if elected president of the united states and that is i will act to repeal obama care. >> the question is how would that work? also, how might republican lawmakers repeal or even gut that law if president obama is re-elected? senior congressional correspondent dana bash has been doing digging on that and has some answers and also with us senior political analyst david gergen. dana, let me begin with you. we're hearing a lot about the term reconciliation and process it too wake to rip apart this law after this election. can you break down the mechanics in this in simple terms? >> i can try. reconciliation is a process that both parties have used allowing a piece of legislation in the senate to be filibuster proof getting it through with a simple majority instead of 60 votes which you effectively need for most all legislation but it has

to have a tax and spend component. what republicans in the senate i talked to say they are pretty sure that large parts of the health care law can be repealed with a 51-vote majority through the reconciliation process. the issue is getting that 51-vote majority for republicans and that's why they have stepped it up in making the case on the campaign trail in key senate races that voters should vote for republicans for a lot of reasons but primarily they're going to really focus on the idea they need that 51-vote majority in order to repeal health care. this is a very, very important point. the only way they can do this is a clean sweep. they can't do that if there's a democrat president obama in the hospital and he'll veto it and they don't have votes to override that. >> if it sounds awfully familiar it should. back in 2010, that's exactly how obama care went through in the first place. david gergen, let me turn to you. if i recall correctly, and it hasn't been that long, there was

an uproar over reconciliation on the republican side. so how can they effectively come back and do the same thing they railed against just two years ago? >> you have seen that process a lot. they do intend to use the reconciliation process. if mitt romney is elected and if they have majority in the senate not only to get health care repealed but they intend to use reconciliation in order to extend a bush tax cuts and make the kind of spending cuts that they want to do. i think they see that. reconciliation is a major weapon. if they can grab control of the senate. what's interesting now is how republicans, conservatives, are targeting senate races to see if they can pull this off using health care as that weapon. mitt romney's team said this is a penalty and not a tax. at the state level there are a number of races where this could make a difference and might help republicans pick up some seats. >> dana, talk about that.

i know you have been working your gop sources who say things like any day that you are not talking health care is a day wasted. >> that's exactly what a top republican source told me the big wigs in washington have told the senate republican candidates. you have to keep talking about this. here's the irony here. republicans are very upset that the policy that they so disdain was upheld by the supreme court. but when it comes to politics, it's a whole different ball game. they are elated because they still have something to run against that they think is very powerful and that of course is this health care law. they really believe this fires up the republican base. it does so for the democrats as well. they are looking at numbers that we actually saw in our poll today independent voters. i'll say to you, 55% of independent voters oppose the crux of the law, which is the government mandate for health insurance and 59% of independent voters believe the health insurance mandate is a tax and you were talking about this in

the segment beforehand but this is why you hear republicans like marco rubio saying this will be a tax on middle class voters. they are trying to make the connection between independent voters specifically who say it's a tax, wait a minute, that means me. >> the poll numbers aside and they are definitely strong, there's another poll out there that's equally as strong that congress is at almost an all-time low. all-time low approval rating back in february around 10%. they climbed to about 17% approval. david, maybe jump in on this with me and tell me if this is a winning strategy to go after this so tenaciously and try to beat this issue up heading into the election. >> well, i do think that republicans are right in believing this mobilized their base. the tea partiers were getting complacent. this will get them out there. this is one of their founding issues. so they've got an opportunity. there are chunks of the country, however, that mitt romney also needs to appeal to who think we

ought to move on and where he might do that is on the numbers coming out friday on the unemployment. when that jobs number comes out it will be just as important, in fact more important than most americans than the health care bill, which way is that number moving. i think the romney people hope over time that they can run a double barreled campaign on jobs and on health care. whether they'll succeed or not, they're running against a formidable candidate and nimble candidate, barack obama. >> if i can just add, the point you made is what we're hearing from democrats from the white house to capitol hill. republicans are fighting yesterday's battle and that what we need -- what they need people to hear from washington is talk about jobs. >> and the beat goes on. dana bash, david gergen, thanks to you both. appreciate it. coming up next, the fallout to our exclusive report on friday. the purported e-mails from penn state officials about jerry sandusky. what potential role did joe paterno play in not reporting sandusky to the police. we're keeping them honest. with the spark cash card from capital one,

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fallout tonight to the exclusive story that we reported on friday. purported e-mails exchanged between penn state officials in 2001 about jerry sandusky's behavior. specifically sandusky's sexual encounter with a boy in a locker room shower. did penn state officials cover up that incident by not reporting sandusky to the proper authorities? there is one indisputable fact. after that 2001 incident, jerry sandusky went onto sexually abuse at least four more boys. keeping them honest, the e-mails suggest that coach joe paterno may have played a role in the university's decision not to report sandusky to the authorities. in one e-mail exchange penn state vice president gary schultz wrote to athletic

director tim curry to talk with the subject, contacting the charitable organization and the department of welfare but the next day curry responded saying he changed his mind. after giving it more thought and talking it over with joe yesterday, i am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps. i am having trouble with going to everyone but the person involved. our susan candiotti broke this story exclusively on friday. what are the implications for joe paterno at this point? >> that's what everyone wants to know of course. until now he said publicly and he testified before a grand jury although he was never interviewed by penn state university about all of this. he said that asccreery

came who to him he went to his . now it appears that joe paterno had another conversation about this two weeks after that with the athletic director tim curley, at least according to this alleged e-mail. it suggests or raises the question, what did he say? >> what happened in that conversation? >> did he now, therefore, play a role in the decision not to contact child welfare? well now the attorneys for the paterno family say absolutely not. that joe paterno who we can't talk to now obviously he passed away in january, that he never interfered with this investigation and tonight the family is calling on the director looking into the penn state investigation, the former fbi director, to release all of the e-mails and asking the pennsylvania attorney general's office to release all of the e-mails. ashleigh, it's doubtful that is going to happen certainly before all those investigations are complete. they want to see the full

context. >> apart from the conversation about what may or may not have transpired between curley or paterno and that may or may not have changed the direction of these officials, do we know anything more about what the penn state officials may have done post-this 2001 incident to change the direction on the three-part plan? >> well what we're finding out is this. we know according to a source familiar with the investigation that they have turned up billing records that indicate allegedly that penn state contacted an outside law firm to research what its legal obligations were for reporting this incident in 2001 and what may be crystallized now is trying to determine the difference between what curley and schultz are saying that mccreery said to him. they maintain that mccreery said that sandusky was just horsing around with the kid versus what mccreery testified to and was

specific about what he saw. there's a long way to go perhaps before these two investigations are over with on two separate tracks. >> what's fascinatfascinating, victim number two in the shower incident, that was one of the acquittals. the rape acquittal. it is fascinating. >> correct. he was found guilty on other charges of having sexual contact with a child. >> susan candiotti, excellent work as usual. excellent work tonight. thank you very much. still to come, does tom cruise's scientology faith have anything to do with the breakup of his marriage? opposition groups claim more than 100 people were killed across syria today. there's new optimism as the groups met in cairo to discuss the latest international plan to end the crisis. it calls for transitional dporchor dporc director to end the 16 months of

bloodshed. a man has filed a $21 million lawsuit alleging wrongful death and negligence. chamberlain died last november unarmed and accidentally set off the medical alert pendant he wore around his neck. at the u.s. trials in oregon, not even a photo finish could determine. felix will compete in london. this saga is finally over. >> what a story too because they are friends. thank you. thank you for that. still to come, you will meet the elite firefighting unit known as the smoke jumpers as they bravely battle colorado's wildfire.

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scientology, is the controversial religion a factor in katie holmes' decision to divorce tom cruise? we're digging deeper ahead.

tonight there's finally good news to report about the giant waldo canyon wildfire in colorado. firefighters say the blaze had stopped growing and is now 55% contained. so much damage has been done. nearly 18,000 acres charred. 350 homes have been destroyed and two people have lost their lives. and while weather conditions have improved, one official put it this way. the tiger is in a cage but the door is still open. in other words, the winds can pick up at any moment.

tonight we have two reports on how firefighters tackle a wildfire of this magnitude and we begin with martin savidge who spent the last few days with a unit that uses technology to predict the direction in which a wildfire will move. >> reporter: it's morning at the base camp of the waldo canyon fire. as firefighters leave, they pass a reminder of what's at stake. residents come to cheer and thank these men and women who daily go out and risk their lives to try to save their town. the fire crews and hotshot teams fight the fire. when fires become monstering

coveri covering thousands of workers, it can be frustrating and perfect work. it's wait wildfires have been fought for years. a middle school in colorado springs is the fire command center. school is out for the summer so they have taken over mrs. wilson's science class, which ems only appropriate because what he's doing is cutting edge and until very recently unthinkable. he can predict where the fire will be not tomorrow but in five days, ten days, even 21 days. the benefit is obvious. if you know where the fire is going, you can strategically place your forces to stop it. he came up with a computer program to predict the fire's future. >> it's high tech and it's cool. >> reporter: fires are propelled by three basic things, weather, fuel and topography. sounds simple but just one look

at a computer map of winds interacting in the mountains and you can see how complicated it gets, which is why stratton doesn't work alone. there's julia rutherford, the incident meteorologist. she studies the weather, wind shifts kill fire crews and predicting them is her job. >> if i see anything on radar i'll let you know as well. have a very safe day out there. >> reporter: when did the fire burn through here? >> that was about four or five days ago. >> reporter: rudy rodriguez is also part of the team. we follow him into the fire. he sets up remote automated weather stations. >> everyone calls it a lunar lander. >> reporter: they constantly update conditions even as the fire burns all around. with key punches he gets the station to talk to me. then there's ashley, a fuel technician. she takes samples of trees, bushes and grass near the fire and is reminded of the urgency

when a giant helicopter flies overhead dropping water on a blaze nearby. she analyzes the samples to see how quickly each will burn and then there's 6'5" nate. >> we're taking a log. >> reporter: it's his job to record and photograph where the fire has been and he often works alone hiking miles from the nearest road. stratton himself goes into the field. he follows the fire from the ground and takes me with him to look at it from the air. >> i was curious why these were holding here. >> reporter: he takes information from julia, rudy, ashley, nate and others and punch it is into a computer. the end result is a color-coded map that tells firefighters with varying degrees of probability wh where the fire is headed and when it will get there and it wor works. >> this is what we plan. it will come in this way. it's still hot in here. it's holding. we'll catch it here.

>> reporter: like all firefighters here, stratton is exhausted. when i asked him what keeps him going, he forgets the data and talks in very human terms about what he saw when he fought on the line. >> i witnessed firsthand of people coming to their destroyed home and agony. it's probably the sickest i've ever felt in my life hearing their cries and seeing their sorrow. >> reporter: for stratton, there are no cheering crowds but he is every bit a wildland firefighter who uses a laptop instead of a shovel. >> martin savidge joins me live from colorado springs. it seems to the casual observer that these fires are bigger and more frequent than they used to be but is that actually what's happening? >> reporter: yeah, they are. especially on the front range of colorado. they noticed that fires have grown in frequency and size and they have become more costly in lives and dollars. there's a couple reasons for that. number one, it has to do with the fact there are more people

and they like to live with nature even though nature from time to time rules. the other factor is the weather. it's changing. it's getting hotter and drier and that means vegetation burns more easily. >> there are tens of thousands of people who are now able to go back to their homes but they are seeing awful things and the strangest pictures will show one home burned to the ground and nothing left but ashes. the home next door is standing and the grass out front is green. can you explain that? >> reporter: right. well, even the president of the united states commented on that. there are a couple reasons for it. number one, a lot of it has to do with what was used to build the home. wood shingles are very popular. they look nice but they burn like crazy. on top of that, vegetation. people like trees and shrubbery around their house. the fire department has to make decisions. it's house triage. which homes they can save and which ones they'll let go. it's a painful decision but they make it nonetheless. we should also point out good

news. 70% containment now being reported at this hour. they're almost done. >> wow. 70% now. that's terrific. fantastic news. martin savidge, thanks for that. appreciate it. want to go now to gary tuchman who met up with highly trained firefighters who may have the most dangerous job in this whole business. they start in the sky and then they just jump right in. >> reporter: in the entire usa, there are only 430 of them. they are among the firefighting elite. they are the smoke jumpers. and many of them are in colorado right now marching onto aircraft which is their transportation to the action. their job? to fly into the fires just as new ones are starting up and stop them from getting bigger. this is vidindividuavideo the s just brought back. the smoke jumpers are trained to see the fires and it's clear when they're on the ground. nowhere near any roads and

sometimes quite a distance from any civilization. if they don't get to the blaze quickly, the flames will often spread rapidly. smoke jumpers court disaster every day they're on the job. >> when you talk to people you know that aren't close family, you tell them what you do, what do they say to you? >> they think i should have my head examined. >> reporter: firefighting is not an occupation for the timid particularly in this specialty. these guys just don't fight fires, they sky dive into potentially combustible wilderness. we were invited to watch them train in this canyon near grand junction, colorado. after the smoke jumpers land, their equipment is attached to its own parachute. >> inside the cargo you find our hand tools that we find for fighting the fires. >> reporter: the smoke jumpers who all work for the u.s. department of agriculture and the interior also have mres and

water in their cargo boxes. they may be in the woods for 48 hours. the fires in colorado have been unpredictable and relentless but there are other ways to get hurt including lightning and bad parachute landings. >> i had a branch of a tree puncture me and come through this pelvis and eviscerate me and fortunately the personnel i was with was a trained paramedics. >> reporter: they dig fire lines and build backfires to stop the wildfires in their tracks. they have to get along with each other because their lives depend on relying on each other. are there times when you're fearful? >> most certainly. i think all firefighters have moment when they're fearful. we like to say courage is not the absence of fear but making of action in spite of it. >> reporter: and there has been

no shortage of action this fire season. >> wow. talk about courage. that's amazing. gary tuchman with terrific reporting out of colorado. we have a lot more happening tonight. reports that scientology is a factor in katie holmes' and tom cruise's decision to break up. we're digging deeper next. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier than i thought. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation

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their daughter spreading rumors that it is a factor in homes' decision to leave that marriage. >> reporter: when it comes to scientology, come cruise may be the faith's most combative celebrity defender famously tearing into nbc's matt lauer over the church's reputation of psychiatry. >> the difference is -- this wasn't against your will. >> i'm asking a question. >> i understand there's abuse of all these things. >> here's the problem. you don't know the history of psychiat psychiatry. i do. >> reporter: cruise joined scientology in the 1980s, over the past decade his public identification with the group is more pronounced explaining his beliefs on talk shows, in the press and scientology meetings featuring cruise with his "mission impossible" theme playing in the background and the star giving a military

salute to a scientology leader have appeared in leaders like this one posted online by radar.com. >> it's something you have to earn because scientology does, he or she has the ability to create new and better realities and improve conditions. >> reporter: many of cruise's statements underscore a central lesson of the faith that its followers can accomplish great things again radar online. >> when you drive past an accident, it's not like anyone else. you drive past and you know you have to do something about it because you know you're the only one that can really help. i won't hesitate to put it somewhere else. >> reporter: such talk echos teachings laid out in the 1950s by the faith's founder, a science fiction writer, who says through counseling sessions referred to as audits, they

should achieve their goals no matter how ambitious. listen to that radar online video as cruise talks about world leaders. >> they want help and they are depending on people who know and who can be effective and do it and that's us. >> reporter: that was 2004. by 2005, cruise was expressing even more enthusiasm over actress katie holmes. most notably by jumping around on oprah's sofa. so what happened? holmes, who was raised catholic, is believed to have converted to scientology as her relationship with cruise grew but in the wake of the split there are reports she is concerned about her daughter being raised in the faith. holmes' attorney called the divorce a private matter.

cruise's attorney said his client hopes the divorce will not be contentious. cruise has talked about sps, suppressive persons. the person who try to impede the message of scientology. >> they said, have you met an sp? i looked at him -- you know, i thought what a beautiful thing. maybe one day it will be like that. you know what i'm saying? maybe one day it will be -- wow, sp. they'll read about those in history books. >> reporter: whether they of this plays into the split with holmes is yet unknown but when cruise and his second wife actress nicole kidman divorced, similar speculation appeared. kidman, who also raised catholic, never seemed to fully embrace scientology and after the breakup she was described as

enjoying a homecoming in the catholic church. as for cruise, one last time listen to radar online. >> i do it the way i do everything. there's nothing part of the way for me. >> reporter: there is no sign he has any intention of backing away from his controversial faith. tom foreman, cnn, washington. >> there's more we're following tonight. isha sesay is back with more. >> at least 19 people were killed by intense storms across the country this weekend amid a gruelling heat wave. nearly 2 million customers from indiana through maryland don't have power. some may be in the dark until friday. 18 states under heat advisories, watches or warnings. glaxosmithkline will pay a $3 billion fine.

the company admitted to misbranding its drugs and withholding safety data about its diabetes drug. an expedition attempting to solve the mysterious disappearance of amelia earhart will set sail tomorrow. the crew believes that earhart and navigator landed there safely and radioed for help before their plane was swept out to sea. they are sounding pretty confident. we'll see what happens. >> signals they may find what they're hoping for. i hope they do. thank you. time for the shot now. up next, get out the sunscreen. this is all going to make sense when we share the staff favorite rediculist so far of 2012. the postal service is critical to our economy,

delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet the house is considering a bill to close thousands of offices, slash service and layoff over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains $5 billion a year from post office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. house bill 2309 is not the answer. there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ?

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all last week we took your votes for your favorite rediculist. tonight it is the staff's favorite. it's their favorite rediculist of the year so far. here's anderson. >> time for rediculist and tonight we add a portion of society that i like to refer to as paleness haters. you're a shifty bunch but you are out there rubbing cocoa butter on each other and maybe if there wasn't so much snickering about pale folks there wouldn't be moments like this on the local news. >> i'm so pale. >> you're on air. >> today's snow is crippling much of the washington lowlands.

>> all right. she got caught on an open mike. no big deal. she picked up and moved on with the weather forecast. it happens to the best of us. if my microphone was open during commercials, that's all you would hear is me talking about how pale i am and me yelling at the crew. they look at me in the eye and i don't like it. i get it. being pale -- shh. they're laughing. they always talk. being pale has its downside. i may be translucent national treasure with piercing blue eyes but i'll never have rich leatherleathe leatherleathe leathery glow of george hamilton. it's okay. pale is beautiful. if you disagree, take it up with my pale sister because i'll go out on a limb and say she doesn't have time for your pale hating baloney. neither does gary. pale but stable without a doubt. it's not just gary who knows what it is like to be a little

on the pale side. it's also the horse that looks like gary. remember him? right on, my pale, friend and then there's that poor cat. you know the cat i mean. yeah. let me tell you, that cat doesn't worry about being pale. let me tell you, that cat doesn't worry about being pale. the only thing that cat worries about is being too good looking. i don't know what this is about. hold on. i'm reminded of something. if we could, i would like to pause a moment and check in with larry king. hey, larry, always good to check in with him from time to time. i love larry. back to being pale. i don't knget how it's not the most desirable appearance. a healthy base